Whenever you see a panicked man rushing his wife to the hospital because she's in labor in a movie, it's played for comedy. The man blows through several red lights, clips an 18-wheeler, everyone screams, "Wooaaahhhh!!!" but they get to the hospital in the nick of time, baby is delivered, and there are smiles all around. In real life driving fast and possibly recklessly, even if there's a baby on the way, can be much more dangerous. And unfortunately one man found this out after crashing his car on the way to the hospital with his wife and mother-to-be.

It all started when Megan Riggans, 22, of North Carolina went into labor. Her husband of only four months, Brian, did what any excited/panicked/crazed/hopeful dad-to-be would do -- bundled Megan in the car and put the pedal to the medal.

Tragically, in his haste, Brian ran his car off the road and hit a tree. Megan was unconscious at the scene when help arrived, and a patrolman has said she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Which maybe isn't that surprising as she was nine months along and bursting, literally.

Unfortunately the lack of a belt probably cost Megan her life. At the hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. The baby boy, however, was delivered and has survived.

This situation is incredibly horrible and tragic. A newlywed couple with a brand new baby should be over the moon and ecstatic, and instead we now have a single father who has to bury his wife and mother of his newborn son.

Hopefully this story will inspire some other dads-to-be who are planning to drive their wives to the hospital to remember drive safely, no matter how panicked and no matter how fast the baby is coming. Better to get to the hospital alive than soon.

Have you ever been driven to the hospital by a panicked father-to-be?

 

Image via zeevveez/Flickr